Different Paths, Same Destination
by ShivaVixen
Summary: A collection of paths a certain company could have taken, but still ending up at the same destination. Alternatively, how many ways the Company could meet and influence each other before the Quest for Erebor. Or, why Dwarves and Hobbits should stick together against the dangers of the world, despite the naysayers on all sides. Some Silliness, Some Tragedy, all for your enjoyment.
1. Path 1: Those who Wander

**This story is a collection of one shots on how Bilbo and the Dwarves could have met in different circumstances/before the quest as well as occasional 'what if they did something different on the quest' ideas. No Modern AU's here, it will be working mainly within Tolkien's world. The primary focus is The Hobbit (combining Movie and Book when appropriate) and the Main Characters within. Some will be long, others short, it depends on how much I like the idea.**

**Some of these, you'll notice, could be their own, multi-chaptered, stories. I'm not going to expand them beyond the one chapter they have here, due to having enough unfinished stories in progress as it is. If you would like to adopt one, I ask that you ****notify**** me, as well as ****credit**** me.**

**This collection is the result of some rather interesting Alternate Universes I've read in this fandom, and you may see some similarities to other stories due to the fact those stories have inspired me. You can find these Stories (some of which are Slash or Genderbending) in a handful of communities: Dwarves in the Shire has the main culprits. When I remember the other names, I'll post them. **

**To Clarify: There will be **_**No Slash or Pairings**_**, just good, old-fashioned friendship (or Bromance, if you must) and family feels. There will be some Gender-bending (and occasional Age-Bending) but those will be played for humor, not romance. **

**As I am writing a fan fiction, on a site labeled , I should think it is obvious I do not own the rights to the Hobbit . . . I'm just having fun.**

**Path 1: Those Who Wander**

Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, Son of Thror, was lost. Normally, this would not be a problem, as he would travel with a group, but today, he had chosen to travel alone.

The smith who was supposed to travel this way had been injured, and rather than allow him to lose money, Thorin had volunteered himself to go in his place. It had been a nice sunny day with only a few clouds when he had left.

Unfortunately, the weather had steadily gotten worse, leading to the current storm, and his losing his way.

He found a slightly sheltered spot on a nearby hill, and settled down to wait out the storm, and hoping Balin and Dwalin wouldn't go at him at the same time when they found out about this. (And somehow, they always seemed to know when Thorin had done something un-kingly and, more bluntly, stupid.)

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted, by a door in the hill suddenly opening and throwing light on him. Two large dogs barked as they charged out the door, though they quickly retreated at a sharp command.

"Who're you and what are you doing out here?" The one that spoke was small, the height of a dwarf child, yet speaking with the voice of an old man, and more importantly, wielding a pitchfork.

_Wonderful, I'm never going to hear the end of this if Dwalin finds out._ Thorin thought, then shifted to hold out his hands. "I apologize, I was seeking shelter from the hail . . . I was on my way to the village of Bree for work."

"Bree! You're far from there, lad. Get in here, afore you catch your death!" Thorin bristled at being called 'lad' but pushed aside his pride to obey. "Ma! Visitor! Needs Warmth!" The small man called, closing the door and putting the pitchfork to the side. "Not a man, guess you must be a dwarf, don't get many around here."

"Yes, where am I?" Thorin blinked at the rather cozy hole, and at the strange little man who was muttering about loss of crops looking at the rain and hail. He did a double take as a little woman came into the entrance way, and gave a cry of dismay, and cutting off the little man's answer.

"You poor thing! Let's get you out of those wet things, Da, start a warm bath at once." As the little woman began fussing over him, Thorin noticed her feet- she wore no shoes, but her feet were covered in a thick curly hair.

_Small people, smaller than dwarves with hairy feet._ "You're . . . Hobbits?" He had heard tales, of course, little people that could vanish, and he had heard that Bree was near the border of their land. But for the most part, Thorin had ignored the stories- Hobbits rarely left their land, and he had never met one before, so there had been no need to listen to rumors of a people smaller than dwarves and capable of disappearing.

"We'll speak after you've soaked and had a bit to eat." The lady hobbit said, and Thorin was far to tired and wet to argue- in fact, he was so tired, he didn't realize he hadn't introduced himself until after he was settled at the table, wearing his spare clothes while his wet ones were drying by the fire, and the man of the house started questioning him.

"Mind telling me who you are, Master Dwarf, and why I found you on my front step, looking half drowned?"

Thorin internally balked a little at the person's tone, but he reluctantly pushed aside his pride to answer. "My name is Thorin, I was heading to Bree for work, and was trying to take shelter from the rain."

"Bree? Lad, you're heading in the wrong direction." The little person studied him.

"I'm telling the truth." Thorin was really annoyed with people treating him as untrustworthy, it was getting under his skin more than ever now.

"Did I say different? What sort of work, Mister Thorin, and why carry a sword?"

" . . . Smithing, the sword's for my protection." Thorin answered, and any more questions were thankfully stopped by the arrival of the man's wife.

"Mister Maggot! I'll thank you to wait until after supper before harassing the poor dear!"

Thorin was starting to think he'd much prefer Farmer Maggot's distrust than his wife's fussing. Any attempt to try and help, or even offer to help, was met with more fussing, and Thorin had to put up with her attentions. Thorin also very quickly regretted mentioning that normally he only had between 2 or 3 meals a day. She promptly began trying to feed him more.

A knock on the door had the old farmer grumbling as he went to open it. In came a very muddy hobbit youth (judging from the size, the mud made it difficult) and two equally muddied dogs, as well as another hobbit who looked very vexed.

"Bilbo Baggins! What are you doing out in this weather!" Farmer Maggot demanded as his wife started fussing over the youth and dogs- or more accurately, the mess they were making.

"Tooks. Several children went out in this weather, and mother insisted I help search. Found yours while looking for that scamp Paladin Took and the three cousins he convinced to go adventuring in this lot."

"Brandybucks at least have some sense." Farmer Maggot muttered. "No help for it." He whistled for the dogs.

"Wait, if you need help-" Thorin started, standing, and causing the new hobbit to start in surprise. "Thorin Oakenshield, at your service," he gave a small bow- really a nod of his head, "This storm is not a safe place for children of any kind to be." Dwarves were naturally protective of their children until they made it to adulthood. The numbers were dwindling, and each dwarfling born was considered a boon.

"Bilbo Baggins at yours. If it's not too much of a bother." Baggins seemed a rather timid fellow, and Thorin was sure he was some sort of grocer.

It was a difficult search in the rain, the dogs' noses were practically useless, and even Thorin's naturally excellent eyesight in the dark could barely pierce the darkness brought by the storm.

They found the children huddling in an abandoned barn, and with much scolding from Bilbo Baggins to the children, two of whom Thorin was carrying while Baggins held the third, they headed towards the children's homes, Farmer Maggot returning to his own.

"Well, you'd have had to meet the Thain tomorrow any way, Tooks are too curious for their own good to let a stranger pass by without questions." Baggins said when Thorin asked where they were going. "Lucky you met the Maggots, they'll bring anything you left there to the Thain in the morning."

A Thain, it turned out, was the Shire Equivalent to a king, though politics were the sole responsibility of the Mayor of Hobbiton. The Tooks were apparently the closest thing to warriors the Shire had, and Thorin found himself fussed over by many of the mothers, who apparently thought he needed more food.

Thorin also discovered that Hobbits were rather business savvy, and despite having a few blacksmiths of their own (lesser skilled than dwarves, but serviceable workmanship Thorin judged) he ended up being given a list of jobs needed doing (room and board included) and paid half up front as soon as the contract was signed.

He was there for a couple months, during which he found Bilbo and Belladonna Baggins to be the most helpful at explaining how the Shire worked (though he disliked the Bracegirdles, a rather silly family who'd die the instant they stepped out of the Shire in Thorin's opinion) and he found that Bilbo was rather learned- though he had a strange fascination with elves that Thorin found unhealthy.

Bilbo also seemed to be just as restless as Thorin, in a way, mentioning that though it was frowned upon (and grudgingly accepted that Tooks and Brandybucks didn't care) he'd like to have at least one adventure, and listened when Thorin spoke of Ered Luin and the fall of his own home.

It wouldn't be until years later, that Thorin returned to the Shire, and Bilbo got his adventure- Though Thorin was late because he got waylaid by Paladin Took and the Thain who thought it was wonderful Gandalf was back, and found amusement that the address Gandalf had given him was Bilbo's- apparently, they thought it would do Bilbo some good to have an adventure.

**Next up: No idea, but it involves a certain sticky-fingered dwarf …**


	2. Path 2: Sticky Fingers (& a Good Heart)

**Short, but hopefully sweet … well, after the slightly dark start, sorry about that. The original idea was Nori getting into trouble in the Shire, and having to pay back his 'debt', but I think I like this one better…**

**Quick Note: Hobbits are on average 3 ½ feet high- basically just above a grownup's human's knee. The movies have them a little bigger. Dwarves are also between 4 and 5 feet tall, depending on the dwarf.**

**Path 2: Sticky Fingers (and a Good Heart)**

Nori left Bree at first light, hoping that fat tub of lard one could loosely term as a 'man' didn't notice his purse and a few bags were significantly lighter than they were when he entered. He'd sell them on the way to Ered Luin, check in with his brothers (not that he'd talk to them, oh no, he just wanted to make sure they were alright) and maybe pay off a debt or two.

There were more than a few dwarves with criminal leanings, a ring that was led by a former lord's son who hadn't taken life in exile nearly as well as the actual ruling line. Nori had of course gotten entangled with them once they'd heard of some of his exploits, and now he was finding it hard to get out, unless he killed the ring-leader, which would most likely end with him being exiled or killed as a traitor, and get his brothers in trouble.

Which was pretty much the one rule he steadfastly held to, his brothers weren't to get hurt (physically at the least, he couldn't protect their reputations completely after all) by what he did.

So the best he could do was pay the amount the son demanded, and hope they wouldn't go after his brothers.

Of course, his luck didn't hold much when the tub of lard's hired thugs attacked him, and he had to run.

He lost them eventually, and it took him a moment to get his bearings. He should be crossing a river, because the east road went through the Shire which didn't really have his interest all that much, the men only had good things to say about the pipe-weed and ale, but that was about it as far as he could tell, He'd gone through several times without getting lost or speaking to the hobbits that lived there.

So how he'd managed 3 days later to get invited into a hobbit hole by a hobbit mother and her child (which was barely a over a foot tall, apparently, 3 and half feet was the maximum for an average hobbit) was a rather complicated and somewhat confusing affair.

"I'm terribly sorry, that side of the family has less sense than thimble." The Hobbit mother huffed, placing a plate of food right in front of him.

"That's, okay." Nori managed, terrified of the small female in front of him, while her son studied him with large eyes.

Belladonna Baggins gave him a look that told him he was being foolish, before giving him a pint of ale that was a bit large for a hobbit. "Bilbo, go out and play, I'll call you for lunch." Little Bilbo shot out of the hole, with a wave and a grin to Nori, leaving very little in the form of defense against his mother. "Really, Master Nori, you can be upset at their accusations you know."

"Except I am a thief, you know." Nori pointed out, and received yet another unimpressed look from Belladonna.

"A thief that rescued my son from that loathsome little Otho and his horde. Besides, it takes one to know one, everyone knows the Sacksville-Bagginses have a horrid habit of helping themselves to their relatives possessions if they feel they belong to them. Comes from Otho's father selling so much of it so he could appear wealthy, y'see."

"So, the fact they're a bunch of thieves means no one will believe them that I am a thief?"

"Especially after I told off that horrid woman." Belladonna nodded. "Of course, the sheriffs will be tougher, especially since you apparently had stolen items from Bree in your pack. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, but it's best if you stay with me and mine for a bit, let them see you're harmless and not about to attack us- most here don't care much for the Big People, and you're closer to our size than theirs."

"I don't want to put you out, any."

Belladonna huffed, and fixed him with a look far more effective than Dori's or that puffed-up Dwalin had ever given him. "You're not. How are your acting skills, by the way? I have a plan to get you out of this mess, if you don't mind pretending to owe a debt to my family- Dwarves are picky about their oaths and honor, aren't they?"

Nori decided he really liked one Mrs. Belladonna Baggins.

Her husband took one look at him as he entered, looked at his wife, and shook his head. "Dear, I thought you grew out of your adventuring." Was his only comment, before sitting down to read and fuss over the taste of his pipe-weed and drink. "Horrible year, this one was for growing, y'see, too bitter. Oh, here, have my spare pipe, never mind this stuff, here's the good proper leaf."

Nori was strongly reminded of Dori and his fussing over the taste of things. Although, Mr. Bungo Baggins was far more accepting of his wife and his son's wandering feet than Dori would ever be of his (or Ori, should the notion ever grip him). And as respectable as Mr. Baggins was, he still had time to play with his son.

Little Bilbo Baggins he had met while the little one was trying to escape a rather mean looking crowd of other fauntlings led by Otho Sacksville-Baggins and his attempt to help the little one (because he had seen the little one try to outwit his pursuers, which would have succeeded had one old hobbit not spotted and yelled at him for hiding on his property) had ended with the Sheriffs called and accusations of stealing and kidnapping, despite Bilbo's loud yells to the contrary. Nori only realized Bilbo had run off when he saw him running back, his mother in tow, who had taken everyone else to task, and somehow got Nori into her own custody.

Little Bilbo reminded him of Ori, the last time he had seen his little brother. Studious and quick-witted, in love with stories and playing at having adventures and quests, the little one had latched onto Nori demanding stories about the world outside the Shire, and even stolen him a meat pie from 'Old Bolger' (whoever that was) as a bribe.

A few days after his arrival in Bag End, an older hobbit, a younger one in tow, came in during elevensies.

"What brings the Thain out of the Took Smials?" Mr. Baggins asked as Belladonna served the two.

"Thain?" Nori asked Bilbo in a whisper.

"Grandda." Was Bilbo's response.

"The fact my daughter has apparently gotten an accused thief living in her hobbit hole. Not very respectable of you, Mr. Baggins." The Thain chuckled. "Gerontius Took, my son, Isengrim Took, at your service, Master Nori." He said with a nod.

"Nori at your service …" Nori hoped someone would explain what was going on soon. Every time he stepped out of Bag End, there was one of those sheriffs watching him.

"He protected Bilbo, whatever else those Sacksville-Baginses said. And those trinkets he stole were from that Big Person that cheated Mirabella's husband on their trade, so I don't particularly care about that, either." Belladonna said pertly, crossing her arms and looking like she wasn't going to budge on the matter.

"Um, what's going on?" Hobbit laws seemed rather different from those of men or dwarves, and it was a little frustrating not knowing what they were arguing about. Nori knew it had to do with his fate, and whether or not he got handed over to the judgment of Men, but he really didn't know how dangerous the judgment of Hobbits was.

"The sheriffs want to hand you along with your stolen property over to Bree. We don't really have much crime here in the Shire, and the worst we've ever given is a day or two in lock up for drunk and disorderly conduct and community service for the rest." Gerontius explained, somewhat tiredly. "Bella here, however, has claimed you owe her a debt and you should be working for her. It's an old way of getting family friends out of trouble, or potential son-in-laws to prove their worth after a blunder, and it's been years since it was last used. However, Bagginses being well-to-do, there's some contention of that claim, and the Sacksville-Bagginses in particular are demanding you to be handed over to the Big People, debt be damned, or you pay that debt to them."

"Language!" Mr. Baggins covered Bilbo's ears, who just shot Nori a long suffering look.

"Do I get a choice?" Nori was all for not going to Bree- he could escape, of course, had done so plenty of times, but there was always a chance that some Man would have him executed, especially if the rest of his crimes were found out, or they decided they needed a scapegoat for their own corruption.

He'd prefer staying with the Baggins Family (without ever running for it, and it was telling that he didn't think of escaping the hobbits when he wouldn't have thought twice about escaping men) than that.

A small stack of papers was set in front of him with a smile from Isengrim. "We figured you'd prefer that. It's seven years of service, vacation time included, and they don't have to be one right after the other especially if you have to visit home due to a family emergency. You will of course be paid, room and board are included, as are any medical fees." He rattled off, before noting Nori's astonished look. "It's a standard service contract for the claim, and with the uproar the Sa-Sacksville-Bagginses will try to cause, seven is the minimum we can give and make it look like we're not bending the rules for Belladonna."

"You'll pay me?" Nori managed, because that was the only part that had stunned him- the rest he hadn't listened too.

"Of course! It's a service contract! Not Slavery!" Belladonna huffed.

"Could you send it to my family instead?"

"If you want." Isengrim agreed, passing over the pen. "You'll have to work that out with Bella."

Nori signed after glancing through it, a few papers seemed like duplicates, but he knew enough about bureaucracy to realize they had to be filed in different places.

Seven years wasn't much to a dwarf, they lived for up to 300 years, and Nori was usually gone for long periods anyways, so spending seven years in the Shire didn't seem like too much of a chore. He'd be busy, and like all dwarves he was adept at forging to the point his worst was an average big person's best.

Bilbo rather liked having Nori around, and often pulled him into playing (and Nori got a rather deflated ego realizing that as silent as he was for a dwarf or man, and had even sneaked up on elves, he was unable to sneak anywhere in the Shire. Of course, he took it as a challenge.) or telling stories, and though Bilbo became a little more bookish as he grew up, it wasn't to the detriment of their friendship, or trouble making. (In fact, Nori taught Bilbo all he knew about thieving, with a bit of a shock coming from Belladonna being able to out thieve the both of them.)

Then came the Fell Winter, it was a hard winter, it reminded him too much of the winters he'd faced as a child in Ered Luin, though the hobbits remained cheerful even as they rationed their food.

Nori watched over Bilbo and Belladonna as much as possible, getting fire wood to keep Bag End warm (which turned into giving it to several neighbors as well, he didn't mind) and keeping an ear out for trouble when the Brandywine froze.

The wolves were an unpleasant surprise, however, and Nori was relieved he had not gone soft (having forced himself to train every day) and so was able to help route the wolves.

At least, that was what he was told the day he woke up, he'd taken out the largest one but had gotten knocked out by a much smaller wolf that Belladonna had then shot.

Both were turned into very nice furs that became winter coats for the Bagginses and Nori.

By the time summer rolled around, Nori was getting bored, and while he could have taken a break to go visit his home, and check on his brothers, he didn't want to just up and leave the family he had become a part of. Especially as they accepted him despite knowing full well he was a thief.

He then got an idea, and spent a few hours with the forge and at the jewelers making a hair clasp for Belladonna, a neckerchief slide for Bungo, and a pair of arm guards for Bilbo, all with his family signs engraved on them. (The arm guards were part of a growing collection of armor and travel clothes that Belladonna and Nori were stockpiling for the day Bilbo had an adventure outside of the Shire, Nori hoped he was in Ered Luin when Bilbo came, it would help explain a lot.) Nori rarely used his family signs, preferring his own to keep himself separate from his brothers. Claiming the hobbits as family was slightly presumptuous, but Nori hadn't felt so, well, loved in years. Belladonna was like a sister to him, and Bilbo much like a nephew. (Not to leave out Bungo, but Nori felt they were at the area around 'slightly-distant-but-still-friendly-brother-in-laws', and adopted him into the family because he might as well get the set.)

Nori didn't know it, but he had started something that would have far reaching consequences into the future.

**Am so tempted to write out this entire story someday. This one I liked the best of the ideas I came up with.**


	3. Path 3: Foundling Home

**So, here we have a very short idea I came up with, not much will ever come of it … Oh, and Path 2 will be receiving its own story sometime in the coming months, it depends on when I get the time to focus on it. Will post a AN with another Path when I get the first chapter up.**

**Path 3: Foundling Home**

Despite their best attempts, Bifur tended to wander off even if Bofur and Bombur were paying a hundred percent attention to him. The first few times had been frightening- Bifur was still recovering from his wounds, and they were still learning just how much the axe had changed their cousin. Bifur had been easy going, putting up with quite a lot and never getting upset, but the axe now made it that seemingly innocent things could set him off in a violent rage that frightened Bombur.

It frightened Bofur too, but he was still a bachelor while Bombur feared what would happen if one of his children set off Bifur on accident (It made him sick to fear his own cousin, but in some ways, the dwarf with the axe in his head wasn't the Bifur he'd grown up knowing). Bofur spent as much time as possible with his injured cousin, hoping to keep him safe.

So when Bifur had initially started wandering off, Bofur and Bombur had been terrified he'd get hurt, or would be hurt by someone who only saw an enraged dwarf. They'd been frantically looking everywhere, only to find Bifur making toys, or walking in a field and eating flowers (none were poisonous, and Bifur had been annoyed enough to sign that he wasn't completely devoid of his wits), and if they didn't find him, would come back on his own, usually before dark.

(The one time Bifur had wandered off for several days had Bofur about to tear apart the mountain, only for Bifur to return as if he'd never left.)

* * *

><p>Bifur, for his part, knew full well he had changed. Some days he remembered more than others, but he knew who Bofur and Bombur were, knew Bombur's wife and small children, and how to perform his craft, and even though he sometimes lost patches of time, and sometimes came out of them somewhere his feet had taken him while his mind was gone, he was still, internally, the easy going dwarf he had always been.<p>

Not that it didn't hurt, seeing Bombur slowly learn to trust him again, or Bofur occasionally thinking he was mentally lost on the occasions he wasn't, but he knew they loved him and he loved them, so it would eventually sort itself out.

So it didn't phase him when he came out of yet another blank to find he was nowhere near his cousins, and actually didn't recognize where he was. He just corrected his course to where he thought his cousins might be, and after another brief period of blankness, found himself in the middle of a road that probably led somewhere.

He probably should have stayed put, but he didn't want Bofur or Bombur to worry, and it would be better if he found them sooner than they found him.

Bifur didn't find his cousins, though, he found a tiny child, just barely out of toddler-hood with scraped knees, furry feet, and a small wooden sword who looked just as lost as he himself was. The child looked up, and for some reason didn't bolt when he spotted the axe in his head (the dwarflings occasionally did, even for a dwarf, his wound was rather disturbing).

"Hullo." The child managed in westron, and looked blank when Bifur responded in Khuzdul.

This was a problem, the child wasn't a dwarfling, and Bifur could no longer use westron (much to his frustration, the words were in his head, but he could never remember how to say them- or they would come out a jumbled mess with the words he wanted to use mixed with the wrong ones- sometimes even his khuzdul came out the same way, depending on the day).

"Bifur." He patted his chest, and bowed.

"Bilbo." Bilbo copied him.

Well, now they knew each other's names …

* * *

><p>"Bifur, where have ye been, we've been searching- who is that?" Bofur blinked at the babe-sized child in his cousins arms.<p>

"Bilbo." Bifur explained, slowly, that he found the child just as lost as him, and wanted to keep him.

Bofur spent several weeks lamenting the growing closeness between the two, and frantically searching for little Bilbo's family- which he did, eventually find, much to Bifur's (and his own, to tell the truth, he'd grown found of the little guy) distress.

Belladonna Baggins noticed, and somehow, Bifur ended up as little Bilbo's godfather, with mandatory visits to the Shire on his birthday and a far more roaring toy-trade than the toy-makers/miners had ever expected for such a quiet little land, eventually moving their small family into the Shire completely, with Bombur enjoying the multiple meals a day.

**That's all I've got, because it ends on a happy note, and I can't really imagine how the quest would happen in a universe where Bifur tries to adopt little Bilbo.**


	4. Path 4: A Lost Prince

**This came about from reading a few Kili gets separated from his family and raised in the Shire- and me wondering what would happen if it was Fili instead …**

**For a good Kili in the shire story, check out 'Strangers Like Me' by Hobbsy3. I haven't found any Fili in the Shire stories, though.**

**Note, it skips a bit, but I just have bits and pieces of this path in my head … and my autocorrect is allergic to the little slanted thing above the 'i' in their names …**

**Path 4: A Lost Prince**

Belladonna Baggins was not having a good pregnancy. As much as she wanted children, she was quite certain she wouldn't want to grow through another pregnancy, thank you. Bungo was a little disappointed, but accepting after he realized how unwell the pregnancy was making his wife.

In an effort to keep herself from growing too unwell, Belladonna tried to carry on as normal- walking to the Took smials every other week to speak with her relatives and assure her father she was fine.

Finding a child that was clearly not a hobbit happened during one of these visits, and Belladonna put herself and her own child in serious risk rescuing the little one- he'd been tied to a tree by some men, and Belladonna had no trouble rescuing the child- she may or may not have used some poisonous plants and doctored their water supply after seeing their treatment of the child, and really, it was quite plausible the men were so cruel and stupid they wouldn't know a safe plant from a not-so safe plant.

His name, which she eventually got out of him, was Fili, and he had no idea where his family was and was very sick from the ill treatment. Belladonna also got that he was a dwarf, before the child had curled up into a miserable ball on her lap and cried.

Belladonna had only visited Rivendell and a few towns of men with Gandalf before she settled down. She had met a few dwarves, but no way to know how to contact them.

Attempts were made by the Tooks and Brandybucks, who did occasionally meet with dwarves and elves, but most dwarves felt that she had found a child of men, due to the rarity of the child's hair coloring among dwarves and the general rule that dwarves were quite over-protective of their children until they reached a certain age, and thus weren't helpful.

Of course, had any bothered to learn the lad's name, they might have been more willing to listen, but that might have also brought some rather unsavory characters into awareness of the child's existence.

And so little Fili became part of the Baggins family, and was promptly besotted with little Bilbo when he was born. He promptly declared himself Bilbo's protector, and even tried to teach Bilbo bits of Khuzdul that he still knew, and gave Bilbo a nickname- Bili (or Billy, as the other hobbit lads and lasses eventually changed it to.)

Belladonna knew enough about dwarves to never cut their hair (much to the distress of the neighbors, who felt Fili was dangerous by having such long hair- how, Belladonna and even Bungo never understood, as neither spoke the dialect of stupid) and so tried to raise Fili as a dwarf and Bilbo as a hobbit. After Fili attempted to cut his hair having seen her cut Bilbo's, however, she decided to let Bilbo's hair grow like Fili's, who then promptly began braiding Bilbo's hair ("An' dis one's fer family, dis one cause yer the oun-est ..." Fili had explained to Bilbo as he braided) and insisting Belladonna braid his ("Keeps it outta da way!").

* * *

><p>Trouble soon came in the way of time- Bilbo aged like a hobbit, after all, and Fili was definitely a dwarven child, though exactly how old was not know despite celebrating his 'finding day' as a birthday. Gandalf confirmed when he visited for one of her father's birthdays.<p>

"It's troubling, I will try to find out about the little one's family … but it may be for the best that he remains with you." Gandalf said, watching as Fili and Bilbo play fought.

"If he has a family, I'm not keeping him from them, Gandalf! It's the worst thing anyone could ever do, take a child away from a loving family!" Belladonna protested, ignoring the dark part that hoped Fili wouldn't have to leave their family.

"I wasn't suggesting such a thing!" Gandalf quickly assured her. "I'm just concerned that there is some danger to the children of the dwarves, if one so young was taken by men. It might be best that he stay here until I can sort it out." Gandalf then sighed, and Belladonna felt infinitely worse. He had told her much about the world, and his role as a wizard was to encourage others to solve their own problems, often meaning he appeared as a messenger of ill news and many would not listen or accept his offer of council.

"If I could find them on my own, I would, Gandalf, but lately even the Tooks are staying close to their smials, the winters are getting worse, and it is at least a month of travel to the places where the dwarves live."

"Don't worry, Belladonna, I can help a lost child or two, but sometimes certain things are meant to happen, whether we'd like it or no, and families are torn apart only to be healed years later in such a way that you wonder why it didn't happen sooner." Gandalf smiled. "Now, are you ready for the finale?"

* * *

><p>Time passed, there was no news from Gandalf, and for a while, Fili and Bilbo didn't notice the difference that their mother did. They attended the same lessons, and Fili always took his role as the eldest seriously, even teaching himself how to use a couple of swords after the Fell Winter. A year before Bilbo was to come of age, however, Fili finally spoke to Belladonna about the difference in age.<p>

"Bilbo's growing quicker than me." Fili said one day as he helped his mother with the dishes (Bilbo and Bungo had gone to visit a cousin). "I know I'm a dwarf, I know I'm adopted …" Fili's hands shook. "Are we really that different?"

"Dwarves live over 200 years, I think, Hobbits and Men live for less than that … I've heard that adulthood for dwarves is reached at 70, or so." Belladonna gently took the dish, before pulling Fili in a hug. "We love you, Fili, that makes up for any possible difference."

"I know." And Fili did. His memories of life before the shire were faded, and while he knew he had a dwarven family, he couldn't remember their faces. He'd never felt the loss of those memories as keenly as he did now, realizing that his little brother was aging faster than him. "I love you all too, I just … never thought I was different."

There were little things, Fili had noticed, the fact he and Bilbo were the only children with hair to their shoulders and in braids (and some wisps of stubble that may someday become a beard); that he was taller and stronger than other children (a fact he did his best to keep in control); that he made far more noise, and he needed shoes when it got cold. He had of course known he was a dwarf, Belladonna and Bungo had never hidden that fact from him, and the more unpleasant relatives had tried to bring it up as an insult only to get a frightfully angry Bungo (and it took much to get him mad) threatening to ruin their reputations if they dared insult his adoptive son again. Fili called them mother and father, and knew that they loved him.

Fili tightened his grip, realizing in a dizzying sort of way that he'd not only outlive his little brother, but his mother and father would be very old (if they didn't- he couldn't even finish the thought) by the time he reached his own coming of age. He didn't realize he had started to cry.

"I know sweetie." Belladonna hugged her eldest tightly. "Shh, my dear Fili, got plenty of time to figure out a plan or multiple plans, whether or not you want to continue living in the Shire or set out to find your family- there's still time, dear heart, don't go worrying about the future just yet."

Fili dried his eyes, and Bilbo drew him into a mock fight later which considerably improved his mood, but time was still slipping away from them, even as Fili turned to helping at the smithy and learning what he could.

* * *

><p>Belladonna got sick when Bilbo turned 40. It was a simple exhaustion and aches at first, but she wasn't getting better, so Bilbo and Fili did something rather reckless and left the Shire in search of Rivendell and a healer that might be able to help.<p>

They weren't expecting Lord Elrond himself to come to Belladonna's aid, but it turned out to be only borrowed time- Belladonna passed a year after Fili reached his majority. Bungo followed not long after.

Bilbo and Fili settled down, somewhat, occasionally making trips to Rivendell, where both learned sword play (more Fili than Bilbo) and life was fine. Fili after getting frustrated, finally figured out how to braid his mustache so that it wouldn't get into everything he ate or drank.

"Fili, Bilbo, I'm glad to see you both still here." Gandalf returned, and it rather surprised the two. "Fili, I've found your family." Gandalf said, and it took a long moment for Bilbo to stop choking on the smoke he'd managed to inhale too quickly for Fili to finally register what the wizard had said.

"My family …" Fili managed. "How, when-?"

"Why are you telling us now?" Bilbo demanded, not happy at his brother's distress.

"I'm afraid it's taken me longer than it should," Which was the closest they would ever get to an apology, they both realized, "I also came, to offer you an adventure."

"I'm guessing my family and this adventure are connected somehow, then?" Fili glanced at Bilbo, who looked a bit resigned. "Bilbo?"

"I'm trying to think of everything I'll need to pack- I'm going to forget something, I just know it."

Gandalf chuckled. "You might want to wait to hear the details, would latter tonight be alright? I'll bring the Company."

"How many? We'll need food."

"Thirteen, counting me."

"Fifteen, with me and Fili." Bilbo nodded. "What time?"

"A late dinner or supper, I suppose, they're traveling separately." Gandalf nodded, and cheerfully left a mark on the door, much to Bilbo's later annoyance.

The first to arrive was a large dwarf, and he pulled up short at the sight of Fili standing behind Bilbo.

"Dwalin, at your service."

"Bilbo and Fili Baggins at yours, please come in." Bilbo introduced. The awkward silence that fell was caused by the dwarf not entering the hole, and staring at Fili.

"Do you know me?" Fili finally asked, moving forward a step, and making Dwalin also step forward, Fili absently pushing Bilbo behind him- he was still the oldest no matter what his hobbit brother could claim in maturity.

"Fili, did you say?" Dwalin finally managed.

"Yes, I was found 50 years ago in the Shire, and adopted by the Bagginses when no dwarves came to claim me." Fili decided it was probably best to be honest. "Gandalf said he'd found my birth family."

"I'm a cousin, was searching for you … we never could find the men that had taken you, or where they went." Dwalin's focus turned to the hobbit with braids in his hair.

"Dinner's in the dinning room- normally we'd use the kitchen, but it'd be too crowded, if you wouldn't mind helping us set up." Bilbo closed the door behind him. "Fili, it might be easier to explain all at once than as people come in."

"Probably." Fili glanced at Dwalin, who had returned his focus to him.

The air became increasingly more and more awkward, the more dwarves that entered and got a good look at Fili. Finally, Gandalf arrived with two more dwarves.

"Is this some sort of trick?" The older of the two was not impressed with Bilbo and Fili's introduction, and was practically growling.

"Here." Bilbo came out with a small chest. "These were the clothes and other objects found with Fili." Thorin opened the small chest, blinking at the sight, before looking up at Fili again.

"I'm Kili, your younger brother!" Kili stepped forward, before halting. "Do you, remember me?"

"It's … faded, I always knew I had another family, just, not who or where." Fili admitted. "I was really sick, when I was rescued … and then no one ever came for me, so…"

"Though that explains why you kept insisting I was the youngest." Bilbo muttered, going to grab desert, much to the surprise of the dwarves. "Mother wrote down as many clues as she heard Fili give from babbling to nightmares, her favorite was when Fili started braiding my hair and informing me that a certain plait meant I was the youngest, she thought it was an interesting choice of words."

"I didn't think hobbits wore their hair long." Balin finally said.

"Ah, that was because I tried to cut my hair, because I saw mother cutting Bilbo's … I can't remember why, but she thought it would be better to let Bilbo's hair grow so I wouldn't go near the shears ever again." Fili admitted, looking embarrassed. "It was one of the few things she knew for certain about dwarves, so," He shrugged, before looking back at Dwalin and Thorin.

"Well, your beard's coming in nicely, so no harm done." Dwalin clapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you have any weapons?" Thorin asked suddenly, sizing them both up.

"Two swords, I'm average with them." Fili winced, remembering his last fight.

"Have training, don't have a sword."

"Why not?" Kili asked, completely interrupting his uncle.

"It broke our last trip, haven't gotten around to replacing it." Fili looked at Thorin, absently putting himself between him and Bilbo, before looking at Gandalf. "And this is the adventure part, I take it?"

* * *

><p>They were a few days on the road when Fili received a rather shocking pronouncement.<p>

"I'm the what?!"

"Heir Apparent, or Crown Prince, if Thorin ever becomes King." Kili said with a grin.

"But- I'm- You-"

"You're the oldest Fili, despite your upbringing, you're still my heir." Thorin said shortly.

"Which means I'm off the hook." Kili's grin got bigger. "And I get to have time getting to know our new little brother."

"I think I should be running, does anyone else get that feeling?" Bilbo asked the company in general, urging the pony he was on away from Kili.

"Me." Ori agreed, remembering what it was like growing up the youngest.

"I'm going to have to learn a lot, then, aren't I?" Fili looked at Thorin, who gave a stiff nod.

Weeks later, Fili got a new lesson- his uncle really didn't like elves.

"Rivendell's not that bad." Fili had interrupted the other dwarves grumbling as the walked towards it, and got more than a few glares. "I'm missing something, then?"

"We will discuss it later." Thorin had snapped, and Fili glanced around, then quickly put himself between the others and Bilbo, seeing that more than a few were glaring at his brother.

When Lindir came down the steps, Fili gently pulled Bilbo with him, dodging Thorin and Dwalin's attempts to pull them back. "Hullo, Lindir! When'd you become the doorwarden?"

"Master Fili, Master Bilbo, it has been a while." Lindir greeted them with a smile, and a bow which Fili and Bilbo returned. "The Lords Erestor and Glorfindel are having a discussion."

"They're arguing again, you mean." Bilbo shook his head. "And you were the closest to the door."

Lindir laughed and nodded. "My Lord Elrond is not here," He added to Gandalf's impatient look, but was interrupted by the sound of a horn. Lord Elrond's arrival and introduction could have gone smoother.

"It is good to see you two, again." Elrond greeted Fili and Bilbo with an embrace. "I was sorry to hear of your mother's passing." He added softly, "Belladonna was a good friend."

"You gave her a few more years than she would have had, she lived to see me come into my majority." Fili bowed.

"I am glad to have been of service." Elrond gave a small bow as he once again stood. Bilbo just groaned as the formal invitation to enter and eat with them was somehow mistranslated by Gloin.

To say there was a bit of distrust towards Bilbo and Fili for being friends with these elves, and being able to speak elvish, was a bit of an understatement. Fili wondered if that meant Thorin would disown him. Dinner went marginally better, and then Fili and Bilbo received quite a lecture on why elves and dwarves were never friends.

"Okay, this Thranduil doesn't sound honorable, but Lord Elrond, his sons, and Glorfindel are." Fili started, only to receive a dark look from Thorin. "Elrond came to the Shire at our request to heal our mother, he didn't have to, he could have sent someone else, but he came himself because he once promised her he'd help her if she needed it." Fili snapped, finally annoyed.

"It's alright laddie, we're not upset about that." Balin got between Thorin and Fili. "You've lived your life apart from us, that's not your fault, or that of your mother or Bilbo. As Thorin's heir, you are expected to be seen a certain way."

"I'm not going to hate every single elf in existence, if that's what you want. It'd be a waste of energy." Fili crossed his arms and met Thorin squarely in the eyes. "Last I checked, part of being a prince requires being able to politely deal with those I don't personally like."

Silence reigned, before being broken by Bofur's chuckle. "True enough, lad, and I imagine being able to understand that birdsong is an advantage for dealing with elves that are speaking behind your back."

"You have no idea." Bilbo snorted. "Fili got into a prank war our last visit, frustrated his opponents that not only did he know sindaran, he could also understand Quenya, rendering their attempts to plot in either language moot."

"A prank war?" Kili asked, curiously. "With elves?"

"Well, two elves, one human."

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that again?" An elf poked his head into the room. "Our father wasn't amused we managed to put dye in the water, or you and Estel's prank with the feathers."

"Were you eavesdropping again?" Fili asked annoyed, which made Thorin and a few others bristle.

"No, I came looking for you, seeing as you apparently forgot I lived here and haven't come to say hullo or rescue me from Erestor or Glorfindel; they're fighting again, by the way, so be careful in the library." The Elf huffed.

"Thanks for the warning. What's it about this time?"

"A missing document, originally." The Elf shrugged. "Elladan Elrondion, at your service." He said belatedly with a bow. "Mind if I borrow Fili for a spar?"

* * *

><p>Thorin watched as Fili absently checked on both Kili and Bilbo, careful not to wake them as he then raised his head to check the camp. Fili was protective of both of them, and Thorin had watched him gently fix Bilbo's hair in the beginning, at some point including Kili in the small grooming ritual. His Sister-son had been raised well in the shire, but was not soft, like Thorin had originally felt Bilbo to be.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>That's it, that's all I wrote for this … *shrugs* it got too long and complicated, and some parts were too much like 'Strangers Like Me' by Hobbsy3 for my liking. The version of this I do like is Path 5 (aka the next chapter.)<strong>

**The idea was Fili got kidnapped by slavers, but because Belladonna dealt with them and their bodies were never found, the dwarves couldn't track Fili, and so thought he was out of reach … or something.**

**Note on character ages and ageing via Book!Canon- Dwarves reach their majority around age 70 or 75 (I can't remember which, right now, but for the purpose of this note, it's 75). Hobbits around 33. (Men, I believe, are 16/18 due to this being a fantasy setting- possibly 20s. Elves supposedly reach majority around age 100. Please correct me if I'm wrong) Bilbo is 50 when he goes on the quest, middle age for a hobbit, while Kili is 77 and Fili is 82 with roughly 5 years between them- making Kili just past his majority on the quest. (So, Kili would be around 50 when Bilbo came of age, and Fili around 55- probably still in their pre-teens if compared to a human. Alternatively, Bilbo would be 43 when Fili came of age, and 48 when Kili did.) Also, Belladonna dies ten years before Bilbo goes on the quest, so while Bilbo's in his 40s.**

**So, if Fili or Kili did show up, they would more likely be raised by Belladonna and Bungo next to Bilbo, as they would be in their tweens/early thirties when he was born.**


	5. Path 5: A Little Sister

**Alright, remember the plot of the previous path/chapter? **

**This is the gender-bend version. (meaning Fem!Bilbo) NO ROMANCE, see Chapter/Path 1 for the reasons why. I actually prefer this version to the other.**

**Also with more child!Fili and Child!Bilbo, because I couldn't come up with sweet scenes for the previous chapter …**

**Path 5: A Little Sister**

Belladonna had rescued a little dwarf child named Fili from a group of men while pregnant with her own child. With the roads unsafe for travel, and no idea where a message should be sent, Bungo had agreed to adopt the child until his family could be found.

That was in August.

On September 21, Belladonna went into labor, giving birth on September 22 to a small baby girl.

"Tiny." Fili noted, having been allowed in to see both Belladonna and the new baby with Bungo (though the midwife had sniffed at the dwarf child's admittance and had left in a huff).

"Bilbo, definitely a Bilbo." Bungo murmured, puffing up in pride.

"Bilbo, that would send the Bagginses into a fit if we named her that." Belladonna giggled.

"She?" Bungo managed, and promptly puffed up his chest to his chin.

"She?" Fili echoed, gently touching the baby blanket in curiosity, but not the baby just yet, sparking some curiosity from Belladonna (most children had to be taught that, Fili must have had a younger sibling, or been around babies before).

"It's a girl, Fili, but I think Bilbo would be a fine name for a girl, don't you?"

"'Sokay, should be Bili." Fili said, making a name that rhymed with his.

"That would give the Sacksville-Bagginses a fit." Bungo noted drily, before smiling.

The fact Belladonna and Bungo had given their daughter a boy's name did indeed give many traditional hobbits fits. The Tooks and Brandybucks, however, thought it was an inspired idea.

"Dear, come here." Belladonna called to Bungo a small grin on her face from where she stood looking into the baby's room. Bungo got up to look, and a matching smile quickly formed on his lips.

Little Fili was singing baby Bilbo a lullaby, though neither adult could understand the words, it was hard to misunderstand the situation.

The adults left the baby in the care of her older brother, and about an hour later, Fili came out looking for Belladonna, holding a dirty nappy and looking slightly distressed.

"Stinky." He had informed her with perfect seriousness, as she put it into the hamper that had been set aside for the dirty nappies that would inevitably fill it.

Belladonna had struggled not to laugh as she saw that while Fili had managed to change the baby's nappy, even managing to clean the baby, he'd still made a bit of a mess and the new one wasn't quite placed right.

"Well done, but you fold it like this …"

When Bilbo had weaned, Fili promptly started sharing his snacks with her, chattering in the odd dwarf-tongue that neither parents understood. (Belladonna rather suspected that Fili was purposefully keeping her and Bungo in the dark, though he had no such qualms about little Bilbo, who even occasionally said a word or two in the language.)

Fili also constantly braided her hair for her, becoming displeased if anyone else save Belladonna or Bungo touched it.

"Family braids only." He had explained, holding a little Bilbo and looking unrepentant at snatching the young one, now 3 and with a head full of curls, away from one young Bracegirdle that the Bagginses had offered to pay for watching the children while they had tea with a friend and a quiet walk. Fili had put up such a fit, that it became clear that dwarves must hold hair more important than Belladonna had originally thought, as she only knew that dwarves did not cut their hair, and so had kept Fili from the shears wielded by well-meaning but ignorant relatives.

Fili became rather devoted to looking out for his new little sister which never waned as time went on and had also become Bilbo's protector, from all things the hobbit lass found frightening.

This included other hobbit children, big dogs, and the occasional nightmare- often Belladonna would wake up to find Fili in bed with his little sister, a wooden sword nearby, and little Bilbo herself curled up into his side. To tell the truth, Belladonna rather suspected that Fili was dealing with his own nightmares by making sure he could guard little Bilbo at night. It wasn't hurting either of them, she felt, and though occasionally the night terrors sent both of them running to their parents' room, babbling about awful things, and being soothed back to sleep by a lullaby or sharing the bed, they were doing better together.

The two explored the Shire, trailing leaves and mud and wielding wooden swords. On occasion, there were fights, as most children got into while learning boundaries that differed from person to person- more than a few made the mistake of picking on Bilbo for having a dwarf brother, and the one boy that had made Bilbo cry had found out that Fili was perfectly capable of blacking an eye. (Another one that made the mistake of insulting Fili in his little sister's presence had received a bite and smack on the hand with a wooden sword.)

Fili disliked that Bilbo was growing older quicker than him, and endeavored to act as grown up as possible, and learn to fight, so he could protect her from the looks from others. She was his little sister, and a dim memory of someone telling him that little sisters were rare and special and needed looking after just as much as little brothers had stayed with him for a long time, until it was one of those things he had always known, but could not tell where he had learned it.

"So, you put this number here, right?" Fili asked Bungo, helping him manage the few investments that the Bagginses had made over the years. "And then the amount for the year should be …"

"You have to multiply this number first." Bungo smiled, watching as Fili took on the lessons for a Baggins heir with a stubbornness that had him swelling in pride. Bungo was happy to have Bilbo, of course, and loved her dearly, but Fili easily filled the niche in his heart that desired a son to be his heir.

Funnily enough, it was Bilbo who struggled with manner lessons; Fili quickly learned to cover for his sister when she made a sarcastic or callous remark about another, usually unimpressed with their lack of curiosity about the world beyond the Shire. It was one of the few times that Bungo and Fili felt that Bilbo was more like Belladonna than anyone would ever admit.

Both Bilbo and Fili were taught elvish by Belladonna, who explained to Fili that while she did not know what was proper for a dwarf to learn, learning the language of another race would at least let him know if he was being insulted or cheated, or not.

Bilbo became less wild as she entered her late tweens, more in love with books and studies of lore, but always willing to join her brother on a walk, or to look at maps and discuss where they could go to find Fili's dwarven family.

The only trip they ever made was to Rivendell for a winter, and Fili had found that the elves weren't very helpful when it came to dwarves and their lore, much was outdated and tainted by an old enmity that one Lord Erestor explained as a result of too much pride on both sides, before muttering about smudged ink.

Fili for his part, was torn. As much as he enjoyed travel, whether walking through the Shire or Buckland, he also enjoyed staying at home with Bilbo, working in a forge or running through sword stances that he had learned from one Lord Glorfindel during their stay. Glorfindel had commented that he had been taught before, and was a natural at double-wielding, even gifting him with a pair of dwarf-made swords that he had kept from a time when there was friendship between the two races.

After the loss of Belladonna and Bungo only a few years apart when Bilbo was in her forties, Fili shoved all thoughts of leaving the Shire while Bilbo lived, all too aware now of how little time he had with his sister. There were more than a few who contested both of them inheriting Bag End, and Fili had his hands full keeping more than few well-meaning hobbit mothers and suitors from trying to force a courtship on Bilbo- one Otho Sacksville-Baggins in particular was very persistent, and a little too keen on trying to get Bag End more than caring about Bilbo. Bilbo was more in love with books and maps than courtship, and Fili did not like the way many tried to force his sister into marriage.

So he was not amused when twelve dwarves and a wizard showed up on their doorstep, and despite the surprise of learning he had a little brother and an Uncle, was even less amused when Gandalf outlined the plan of sending Bilbo into a confrontation with a dragon.

"I need a word with my sister, if you'll excuse us?" Fili had growled, more than a little annoyed when Bilbo brought the contract with her when he pulled her into the nearest room and closed the door. "You're not facing a dragon alone."

"There's a chance he's dead you know." Bilbo pointed out, but her hands shook a little and Fili vowed to strangle the one with the hat (Bofur, he'd said his name was) for describing the dragon in such a way it had scared her.

"A chance is not proof that he is." Fili pointed out, his own hands shaking, though he wasn't sure if it was from rage or something else.

"They're your family too, you know, that Kili's your little brother, he clearly thinks the world of you, even after so long."

"I know," and it hurt, seeing the adoration and love in the younger dwarf's eyes that had been focused on him ever since they'd been introduced and feeling as if he'd been torn in two at the realization he had another younger sibling that needed to be protected. "But he's not the one being hired to go into a dragon's den."

"Right." Bilbo looked down at the contract, clearly lost in thought.

"Do you want to go?" Fili asked, and Bilbo started, before looking up from the contract. "It would be farther than we've ever traveled before, more dangerous, I might not be able to protect you."

"I don't really know. It would get me away from any suitors and I'd get to know your other family, but at the same time, I don't want to leave the Shire or have you leave without me." Bilbo sighed. "Do you want to go?"

"Yes." Fili was a little surprised that he didn't have to think about it. He really did want to go, to get to know his uncle and brother (and apparently, Dwalin, Balin, Oin and Gloin were his cousins) and to see more of the world. The only thing he didn't want was Bilbo to be in danger or hurt.

"Then we'll go, and we can figure out the dragon when we get there." Bilbo tapped the contract. "We'd better pack, I think Mother's traveling clothes might fit me. She had quite a bit of gear that we still haven't gone through …" Bilbo signed the contract, before walking out of the room muttering about things to pack and absently passing it to Balin, still muttering about packing and lists.

"You're coming?" Kili looked excited and relieved, and Fili felt something twist inside. His brother was really young, in a way that made him want to find a place to hide him.

"Might as well, we've been talking about having another holiday, anyway- Bilbo! We're going to have to notify the Gamgees and the Tooks we're leaving!" Fili belatedly remembered.

A crash sounded, and Bilbo re-emerged from a closet with a short sword- one of Fili's first attempts at making one (it was slightly out of balance) when he was much shorter, and so more of a long dagger to him now (though sword size for a hobbit). "Really, Fili, that's where you hid this from Father?"

"Actually, Mother hid it for me, she wouldn't throw anything I made away. I think the better ones she hid in one of the back rooms." Fili took it from her as she huffed in annoyance.

"You'd better help me then- oh, I found the collection she made of your knives, by the way, in her weaving room." (Belladonna had not actually been a weaver or interested in it in any way, the loom had been a wedding gift from her mother, and had been kept along with other gifts Belladonna had received from well meaning hobbit ladies who had thought she should settle down and pursue more feminine past-times.) Bilbo then went towards the back of the smial, accepting the offer of help from a timid Ori.

"May I see it?" Thorin asked suddenly, and Fili was aware of the other dwarves trying not to stare at the two.

"Sure, it was my first attempt at a sword that survived the forge." Fili winced as Thorin frowned at the size, before pulling it out. "Balance is a bit off."

"The steel is an odd color." Thorin studied it.

"It's got some copper in it, there's not a lot of steel in the Shire, a few swords here and there, but they're mostly museum pieces or decoration." Fili shrugged, feeling a bit unsettled at the scrutiny, even though Thorin never looked up from the blade.

"You worked at forge, then?"

"Sometimes, Bagginses are well to-do, so I didn't have to work at all, it was more something I did after I had a bad night." Something in Thorin's eyes flickered at that, and Fili got the feeling he'd said something that made Thorin upset. "Mother, well, my hobbit mother, rescued me from some men, while she was pregnant with Bilbo. She never said how, and I don't really remember because I was sick, a head wound had gotten infected." Fili shifted on his feet. "I had a lot of nightmares, afterwards, but nothing I could ever make sense of when I was awake. The things that let me sleep through the night were either a weapon or Bilbo nearby." Fili explained, a little sheepishly.

"The men were slavers, they tried to take Kili while you two were playing. You got him to run away, but were caught yourself. Kili had to hide until it was safe to get us, and by then it was difficult to track you, though your mother never stopped trying." Thorin re-sheathed the blade, and handed it to him. "It's well made, for a first blade."

Fili nodded, and stepped back. "I better make up the guest rooms, then, what time do you want to leave in the morning?"

"First light." Thorin answered, and Fili practically fled the room.

* * *

><p>Kili for his part, was a little torn about how to handle the situation. On the one hand, he'd known (hoped, dreamed) his brother had been alive somewhere, but at the same time, the Fili that they'd finally found was practically a stranger, and clearly mistrustful of their presence near the hobbit he'd claimed as a little sister. The real upside, though, was that with Fili alive, he'd go back to being Thorin's Heir Apparent and Kili would no longer have to have lessons about managing a kingdom.<p>

Kili also liked the idea that he was no longer the youngest, and having a little sister sounded like great fun, and Bilbo Boggins (_Baggins, Kili, must remember that_) was rather nice and funny, so once they were on the road, he wasted no time in letting his new little sister know he'd also claimed her. -"Kili, I am going to kill you!"- Though he was soon running around the camp trying to escape an annoyed hobbit lass when he accidentally went too far; much to the amusement of the rest of the dwarves, and even getting a chuckle out of Gandalf, Dwalin and Thorin.

"Don't intervene, lad." Balin stopped Fili from getting up (either to help Bilbo or rescue Kili, it was hard to tell which from his expression). "They need to figure it out themselves."

It was pretty clear Fili didn't trust any of the dwarves around his younger sister, and Bilbo, with fondness, explained that Fili had been fending off unwanted suitors since she turned of age in the Shire, much to the frustration of many in the Shire, who found her love of books and maps over starting a family not quite proper.

"Dwarves have those that love their craft more than having a family, and we respect that." Bofur had chuckled. "But Fili's definitely related to Thorin- how long was it, before you allowed a suitor near the Lady Dis?"

"..." Thorin didn't answer, glancing away. Their leader was doing his best to ignore Bilbo's existence outside of the necessary. It was almost admirable how well he was succeeding.

After an incident where Fili and Kili almost drowned with one of the ponies, the dwarves got another reminder that Fili and Bilbo were close. Without saying a word, Bilbo quickly started brushing and drying Fili's hair, fussing in her usual manner over getting the hair to braid correctly, and then without pause attacked the mess that was Kili's hair, making the younger one blush a little, before he winced and yelped as the comb caught on a tangle.

Thorin actually growled and made to get up, stopping when Balin put a hand on his arm.

"Look at Fili." Fili had shifted closer, and was working on Bilbo's own hair. Once that was braided back, and she had finished brushing Kili's hair, Bilbo curled up next to Fili who then started working on Kili's hair.

"Why did you braid her hair?" Ori asked.

"Only family braids hair- I used to pitch a fit if someone else tried it, so Mother and Father decided it was a dwarf thing and made sure no one else but me braided her hair." Fili glanced up. "Is it?" He asked a bit hesitantly. "I mean, I'm not related to Bilbo, but she's still my sister."

"If you don't have a problem with it, I don't." Kili winced as Fili tugged a strand of hair. "Would have liked a warning though, before she came at me with a comb."

Both glanced at Thorin, Fili shifting a little to protect Bilbo.

"We do only allow family to touch our hair. I see no reason why you should not carry on as you have done. I will not have her braiding my hair, however." Thorin had declared, and that was that. (It would be much later, the night of their arrival to Beorn's, to be exact, when Fili fixed Bilbo and Kili's hair, that Thorin would come up and brush and braid Fili's hair, before Thorin would allow Bilbo to brush out a tangle he couldn't quite get.)

What most of the company didn't realize, was that Thorin had relaxed a bit when Fili had confidently stated that only family braids hair, proving that some memory of his life before the Shire still existed.

Thorin would instruct Balin to teach Fili lessons on running a kingdom the next morning, and the lessons that Fili had been given by Bungo on managing an estate and investments were surprisingly helpful.

"I'm a what?!" Fili gaped, glancing at the company.

"Really, it's rather obvious, your uncle is a King, he has no sons, so his heirs would be the children of his siblings. You are the oldest, and your birthright is Heir Apparent to Thorin. Therefore, you are a Prince." Balin explained, trying not to chuckle at Fili's shock.

"But, I've been, what about Kili?"

"Still a prince, but I'm pleased to be dumping the responsibility of a kingdom on you, I never wanted it." Kili assured his brother. "Don't worry, I'll hold your hand during important functions if you need it- ouch!" Bilbo had 'accidentally' smacked Kili with a spoon.

"A prince?" Fili said, sounding as if he was in shock.

"If only the ladies at Hobbiton knew." Bilbo giggled. "You'd have had even more admirers."

"Huh?" Fili managed, rather intelligently.

"Quite a few lasses found you exotically handsome, Fili, you weren't the only one having trouble defending your sibling's honor. You don't want to know what Lilac Took offered me for a chance to be alone with you." Fili choked. "Come to think of it, even Lobelia Bracegirdle thought you were handsome, she only disliked the thought you might have come from a low status." Bilbo mused. "Makes you wonder why she married Otho, a definite step down."

"Wow, he's turning purple." Kili noted, very amused right now. "Who's Lobelia Bracegirdle?"

"A distant cousin, quite a traditional and proper hobbit lady, doesn't like me much, since I spend too much time walking or reading about adventures. Of course, it might be because I pushed her into a mud puddle when I was twelve for insulting Fili, or when I told her mother what she did with the butcher's son when I was 31 after she accused Fili and me of having an incestuous relationship …"

"I thought it was when you told her she had no eye for color during that tea we had with her cousins, and that her earrings were cheap." Fili managed, color returning now that he'd worked through whatever shock he'd received from Thorin's claim he was now the heir apparent.

"Oh, yes, she'd just insulted your mustache, didn't she? How many times did we tell her that hair and beards were a source of honor for dwarves?"

"I don't remember, I do remember having to apologize for your rudeness, and offering her new earrings to keep the peace." Fili said drily. "And then explaining you were complementing her when you started trying to insult her in elvish."

"You speak elvish?" Thorin asked sharply.

"Both Sindar and Quenya, Mother insisted it was good to know what was being said around you, and it would help if I ran into elves that weren't as friendly to dwarves as the few she knew." Fili explained.

"Reasonable, I think. I learned some elvish myself for that reason, but what is Quenya?" Balin said, while Thorin shared a frown with Dwalin.

"High Elvish, their lords speak it, while their common folk mostly speak Sindarian." Bilbo explained. "Fili and I were both labeled Elf-Friend when we met the elves at Rivendell, for being able to speak it- is that bad?" Bilbo asked, seeing the glance Thorin and Dwalin shared, and sensing the shift in the company. "We Hobbits tend to stick to ourselves, and while we get information from the dwarves that travel through the Shire, and may occasionally see an elf, we don't know much more about your customs, just that there is a long list of grievances between elves and dwarves on both sides, and so you remain estranged."

"It is not forbidden, but many of us are mistrustful of any elf that would lay claim to a dwarf." Balin said, and Fili shrugged.

"It was an elf lord that gave me my swords and helped me learn to use them. He remembers Moria, and received them as a gift many years ago from a warrior that lived there, gifting him a sword from the elves in return. They respected and understood each other, but he admits there wasn't much more than that." Fili tilted his head. "There is good and bad in every race, and even the good may not be nice or kind in a way you'd want, but I won't hate all the elves for the deeds of those that came before I was born, I'm not that stubborn."

(It should be noted, that Bilbo and Fili's ability to speak both versions of elvish helped in both Rivendell and Mirkwood, and that Fili started teaching Kili on the watches they shared together, which went a long way in winning over the respect of a certain female Elf Captain.)

* * *

><p><strong>There. Much fluffier than the non-genderbend version, but no romance, just an adoption of a hobbit into the royal line of Erebor. (Even the mention of Tauriel is not meant to be an allusion to romance, but a respect and understanding that Glorfindel had with the nameless dwarf. Glorfindel in the Lord of the Rings is possibly the same one that slew a balrog in the Silmarillion, and killing a balrog possibly grants you a second life (the same way Gandalf was 'sent back'). If this is the case, Glorfindel would have done business with Moria while the dwarves lived there, and could have gained a respect and understanding with a fellow warrior.)<strong>

**This Bilbo would never marry, and still adopt Frodo to be her heir, but with a place of honor reserved at Erebor for whenever she wanted it.**


	6. Path 6: Altered Negotiations

**And now for something a little different- a point of divergence that happens just prior to the battle of five armies, which I've been thinking of ever since I've read the book, and was only fueled by the movie. (Honestly, it was one of the best scenes of the movie, very close to what was written by Tolkien about the negotiation and how the other dwarves let Bilbo go, rather than let Thorin hurt him. I also thought the way they treated the gold/dragon-sickness was very well done, Richard Armitage wins my vote for best acting for this movie.)**

**Put simply: why the heck did no one lie?**

**Path 6: Alternate Negotiations**

"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur was the first to ask, well aware that their hobbit was missing.

"He snuck out, we found the rope on the battlements." Dwalin reported, and all froze as Thorin entered. Thankfully, whatever he thought of Bilbo's disappearance was not mentioned as Bard and Thranduil rode up the path.

The appearance of the Arkenstone was almost impossible, and Thorin declared that it must be a fake. It had to be a fake, unless Bilbo had given it to their enemies, and Thorin could believe that, but a part untouched by the madness insisted that Bilbo would never betray or undermine him.

"Your Halfling didn't think so." Thranduil spoke, stopping Bard, who was clearly not meant to dissemble, from giving their ruse away. "From what we gathered, he realized Smaug had it on his scales along with other valuable jewels. Bard found it when he slayed the wyrm, though he did not know its value, and the Halfling tried to steal it from the camp last night."

"What have you done with Bilbo?" Kili demanded, having been stopped by Balin from using Bilbo's rope to get down and try to attack the two in front of them.

"Given he was responsible for your escape, I thought it would be fair to take him back to Mirkwood." Thraduil said, looking at Thorin with a small hint of a smug smile. "I do not know how long Halflings live, but he will be serving your sentence."

More than one dwarf snarled at that. Thorin, however, might have been made out of stone.

"He said he'd be willing to give his 14th share of the treasure for the stone and your lives. He didn't care too much for his own." Thranduil added the last almost absently. Kili once again tried for the rope, along with Bifur, and it took Balin, Bofur (who wasn't trying very hard), Dori, Gloin and Bombur to stop them. Ori was holding onto Nori, who was playing with one of his hidden knives.

"He said you were stubborn and trying, but that you were also loyal to a fault and he cared for your lives, and would save them if he could." Bard added, slipping the stone away. "Will you honor his bargain? I would let him go free."

Fili glanced at Thorin, who was still as still as stone. "Thorin, Uncle? What do we do? We've got to help Bilbo …"

"What is your answer, Thorin Oakenshield?"

Thorin disappeared into the mountain as Dain's forces arrived. Dwalin went after him.

"We need to rescue our burglar, Thorin, the lad went after the arkenstone for you." Dwalin started, and fell silent as Thorin whirled on him.

"How do we know he planned to return, Dwalin? He might have been planning to run once he was free!" Thorin snapped. "He's not one of us, and I'm not responsible for his fate." He was still trapped in the dragon-sickness, Dwalin realized, and his heart broke to realize it.

"He would have run at the Goblin Kingdom, or while we were trapped by spiders, or imprisoned in Mirkwood, then. He's a member of the company." Dwalin reminded, but it did no good, and when Thorin ordered him to leave, he did. But not without one parting shot. "You were always my King, you used to know that, and Bilbo would have died protecting you from Azog on that cliff."

Thorin looked at the place where the arkenstone was once held, and noticed something resting there. He frowned and reached up, removing a small acorn.

'_I'm going to plant it, when I get home … I'll look at it and remember our adventure, the good and the bad …'_

Bilbo had carried it from Beorn's, and would not have left it behind. Not unless he planned to come back for it. Thorin's feet carried him as his mind whirled, trying to throw off the gold-sickness.

'_Does your word mean nothing?'_

'_What of mine, I vouched for you?!'_

'_Willing to give his share for the stone and your lives, he didn't care much about his own.'_

'_I am not my grandfather.'_

'_There was one I could follow, one I could call King.'_

'_You've always been my King, you used to know that.'_

'_Thorin? Uncle? What do we do?'_

A heavy crown was tossed to the side along with a too heavy coat and armor. What had he been thinking? He would not have been able to fight for long in all that. He felt sick as he came back to himself, he had not behaved well, and he could very well remember the fear in Bilbo's face every time they spoke- Bilbo had been scared of him. It hadn't just been Bilbo, whose face he could remember looking at him in fear, but the others as well, though to varying degrees.

Thorin Oakenshield paused for only a minute, to put the acorn in a small crystal container that was made to hang on a necklace, though he used a leather thong instead of a chain, and placing it around his neck before heading back to the battlements. Orcs were attacking, and the alarm was sounding in Dale's ruins where the survivors of Laketown had taken refuge.

"Will you follow me, one last time?"

* * *

><p>For Bilbo's part, he woke up rather groggily to a bad taste in his mouth and the sounds of fighting. Someone must have given him a sleeping draught, and he cursed, hoping that he could get back to Thorin and the company to explain himself.<p>

The battle with orcs was not expected, he didn't recognize the dwarf army, but he did recognize the horn and see the Company exit the mountain to join the fray.

"Bilbo!" Gandalf cut down an orc, and Bilbo looked up in annoyance.

"Who drugged me?!"

"You wouldn't listen, Thorin was dangerous in that state, and none of us wanted you to get hurt." Gandalf sighed, because Bilbo was clearly not listening now, either. He hadn't counted on the dwarves rubbing off on Bilbo so much.

* * *

><p>On Ravenhill, Kili and Fili did not go scouting, instead helping their uncle and dwalin cut down the charge of orcs that had attacked after Thorin had suggested it. Thorin got separated from the others, who were being pushed towards the frozen lake, and snarled as he went down thanks to a small patch of black ice covered in snow.<p>

"Thorin!" The trio cut down their opponents, hoping to get there before Thorin was killed.

A blur of blue came out of nowhere, slaying the orc and guarding Thorin as he got back up.

"Bilbo!" Kili rushed the hobbit when the last of the rush was killed, grabbing him into a hug. "Are you alright, Thranduil didn't hurt you, did he?"

"You came back." Thorin noted, a bit more relieved than he sounded.

"Of course I did, I would have returned earlier but they drugged me." Bilbo looked annoyed. "They thought you'd hurt me."

Thorin ignored the voice that denied he would ever do such a thing. He knew full well the truth. "I would have, I was not in my right mind." He would have turned on his own kin, and Thorin felt a little sick at that knowledge.

"Right, well, best talk about this later. There is a trap, there's another orc army led by Bolg, and it's coming through here." Bilbo explained.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it, dunno who survives or who will die, but it's bothered me that everyone tells the truth to Thorin when he's clearly skipping without a rope- I know honesty is a virtue, but it's not that bad of a lie. Smaug did have the arkenstone, he had it for years; Bilbo did intend to claim it and use it to insure he received his 14<strong>**th**** share (Smaug implied that the dwarves would turn on him the instant they didn't need him when they spoke, that's in both the book and movie, and in both cases, the dwarves themselves start acting like it); Bilbo did value the dwarves lives over his own, he took a big risk facing Thranduil and Bard, one who had every reason to put Bilbo in a cell and another to claim his life for setting Smaug on Laketown; and Bilbo did want to return to the dwarves and would not have stayed in that camp willingly. The only lie is that Bard found it on Smaug, but that's kinda a small one.**

**I also liked the acorn addition, especially since it gives us an absolutely brutal hope spot that Thorin will snap out of it, only to snap right back. (I like it when an addition by a scriptwriter heightens the drama, not drags the watcher through a few unnecessary bits.)**


End file.
